American Family Care (AFC) is one of a growing number of franchises that helps people access affordable medical services in the form of urgent care. With the need for urgent care set to continue growing, it is no wonder that there are numerous opportunities for those that want to buy in. Pediatric urgent care focuses more on helping children and young adults with medical problems. If you visit afcurgentcare.com/patient-services/pediatric-urgent-care, you can see the full range of urgent care for kids and young adults.
The Concept of Urgent Care
Traditionally, hospitals were the place to go if you had any medical issues. Whether it’s something as minor as a sprained ankle or an emergency like a heart attack, rushing to the emergency room (ER) of your local hospital was the right thing to do. There, you would have access to staff that included community physicians and other specialists that would promptly attend to your medical issues. All of this is at an affordable cost.
However, times have changed. No longer is this a reliable option for a non-emergency medical case. For instance, if you develop a painful sore on your back, it might cause you discomfort. However, it is not considered a medical emergency because the likelihood of this sore putting your life in immediate danger is slim to none. Going to the ER with such a sore could mean waiting for hours as other more critical cases are attended to first.
That’s where urgent care comes in. Urgent care ensures that you can walk into any facility that offers such services and get prompt medical attention for your non-life-threatening conditions. With no prior appointments required, urgent care ensures that you don’t have to endure the frustratingly long waits at your local ER. Urgent care centers offer services for extended hours every single day of the calendar year. This is an advantage compared to many other types of healthcare facilities that may only operate during specific business hours. AFC, like many urgent care facilities, offers a wide range of medical services.
Medical Attention for Urgent But Non-Life-Threatening Situations
Say you cut your finger while chopping some vegetables for dinner. The wound is bleeding, and you’re unable to fully control the bleeding. While this wound will not result in a significant blood loss that will cause shock, it is still something that you want to address immediately. This is a typical example of the kind of issues that urgent care centers handle. Of course, some medical issues and situations may require seeing a doctor but are not serious enough to be considered medical emergencies. Unless you’re a medical professional, it is difficult to readily distinguish between a medical emergency requiring going to the ER and one that can be addressed at an urgent care facility.
A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself if a particular health issue if left unattended for 24 hours, can cause a rapid deterioration of one’s health condition and possible death. If the answer is yes, then such a situation qualifies as a medical emergency. In such cases, a trip to the ER is the solution. If the situation can wait longer than 24 hours, an urgent care facility is your best choice. Pediatric urgent care focuses on non-life-threatening medical conditions that affect kids. The kids can be as young as a few days old or as old as freshmen. Pediatric urgent care tends to be less costly and more efficient than an ER visit.
You can get your child the medical attention they need quickly without being in long ER queues. Of course, you can take your kid to an AFC urgent care center for a medical emergency if that is the nearest health facility to you. Due to the sensitive nature of children’s medical care, you can expect an AFC center to follow up with your child’s pediatrician. For instance, if your child is being managed for a certain medical condition by their primary pediatrician, you won’t have to worry about mixing up treatment regimens. The urgent care doctor will usually send a copy of your medical incident report to the primary pediatrician. This way, your child’s treatments are streamlined.
Can Surgery Be Performed at an Urgent Care Center?
Apart from minor wound repairs like stitching, urgent care facilities do not perform surgeries, pediatric or otherwise. You’ll have to take your child to a regular hospital for this. Similarly, an urgent care center cannot manage your kid for long-term conditions like lupus.
Ultimately, the scope of what can be done for your child at a pediatric urgent care center is relatively limited. Other than managing wounds and non-serious medical conditions like a sprained ankle, a pediatric urgent care center does not offer all medical services. You’ll need to go to a hospital for major things like surgeries.
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